Travel/Preparation

ALBURQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO---Gray skies, mini snow flurries, and howling winds greeted the Aztecs as they arrived here for a critical three-game conference showdown with New Mexico.  The team (and it's announcer) flew in yesterday afternoon on Southwest, with a turbulent bumpy landing that led pitching coach Rusty Filter to rename our flight choice "Knuckleball Airlines", and led head coach Tony Gwynn to consider the merits of making the 11-hour drive instead of the 90-minute flight.  

The team immediately went from the airport to the University of New Mexico to stage a practice, using the team's half-astroturf, half-grass field.  Coach Gwynn placed a screen inside the batting cage, behind the plate, and then sat on a chair behind that screen, instructing his hitters not to hit the ball out of the park (not an easy feat, given the icy but blasting wind, mile-high conditions, and inviting fences).  Instead, the hitters were told just to work on their swings, the plane of the bat traveling through the strike zone, and hitting the ball the other way.  Trying not to do too much at the plate is a constant refrain from the coaching staff, pounding the message home to try and counter the natural, youthful tendency to pull and hook the ball in search of a homerun.  It was a good practice to help acclimatize the young kids into the thin air while also getting the blood flowing after a day of travel.  

What's there to do in Albuquerque?  Well, I'm sure there's something, but it doesn't exist around the team hotel.  The Drury is actually very nice, with a hot, free breakfast buffet and complimentary wings and drinks for Happy Hour.  It just happens to be in the middle of an industrial complex.  I asked the clerk at the front desk where the nearest sundry store was.  He told me it was "a block" down the street at a Chevron station.  1 mile+ later, I found it, after walking past dozens of empty office buildings.  Oh, and there's a Clear Channel radio multiplex across the street.  Yay, dark reminders!

This morning provided a fascinating glimpse into Coach Gwynn's teaching style.  The team bused to the Albuquerque Baseball Academy after breakfast, an indoor hitting facility.  After 7 or 8 rounds of BP, Gwynn huddled the team around a video monitor, where the Academy had frame-by-frame recordings of the swings of various MLB players.  

"Head behind the ball, head behind the ball," said Gwynn, "doesn't matter who you put up there (on the screen), you'll see their head is behind the ball."

Up popped Joe Mauer, A-Rod, Giambi, Soriano, Carlos Lee, and others.  Sure enough, at the point of contact, the head was always behind the ball, the arms were extended in the hitting V, the eyes were watching the ball into the hitting zone.

"Look at the bat plane through the zone now," as the next frames clicked into place.  "Flat.  Flat.  Flat.  Look at the knob of the bat.  The knob of the bat goes to the ball, the barrel follows.  Watch."

The video of A-Rod would back up two frames, and there it was.  The knob, then the bat barrel.  

Next, Gwynn asked the video tech to put up some different players.  Derrek Lee, bad bat plane, rolling over on a fastball and hitting a grounder to third.  

"See?  That's the bad, low bat plane I get on you guys about, and look at the result."

Then, the video tech had to smile at the next group of hitters Gwynn asked to see on the screen.  The tech said, "nobody's asked us to look at the David Eckstein video before!"

But there was little Eck, with the Cards, taking (as Gwynn put it) "97-mile-an-hour cheddar" to right field.

"Here's a Punch and Judy guy, but look again.  Head behind the ball, he's choking up on the bat, but the bat plane is flat, and he takes that pitch (a Bartolo Colon fastball) on a line into right field."

I've always heard about Gwynn's exploits as "Captain Video", but to watch it in person as a lesson imparted to his hitters was fascinating for a seam-head like me.  

The last message delivered to the team was one of focus, heightened awareness, staying on the little things that lead to success, and trusting your ability.  I don't know what SDSU's results will be this weekend in New Mexico.  I do know that they are ready to play.  Catch all the action on goaztecs.com, I'll have the call at 5pm (Pacific Time) tonight and tomorrow, and 11am on Sunday.  

A Reason To Go To Petco...Ello, Apr. 2nd

I guess the easiest line of the week would be: "You better go see Stephen Strasburg pitch at Petco Park on Friday, because he'll be the best pitcher you see there all season!"

Ha, ha.

But, of course, true Padres' fans aren't laughing.

Friday is indeed the day for everybody to have a chance to come out and see the Aztecs' All-American, can't-miss, future Hall of Fame right-hander pitch for the first time in a big league ballpark. According to everyone who has ever seen a baseball game of any kind, it won't be the last time.

But after Strasburg pitches, there will be another game at Petco on Friday night, one that I have a feeling will be looked upon with far less fanfare and far more trepidation.

More on the season that nobody-seems-to-be-looking-forward-to later. But first, a bit more about our star.

Strasburg has been the subject of recent articles in Sports Illustrated (five pages, with pictures!), on ESPN (TV, website, magazine), at Yahoo Sports...and anywhere else anybody happens to be musing about the National Pastime these days.

One TV wag said that Strasburg -- who most certainly will be the No. 1-pick in this summer's MLB draft, and will most certainly command a salary in the neighborhood of $50-million -- is baseball's version of LeBron James.

With all of that fanfare, there's no doubt that curious eyes want to get a glimpse of this local phenomenon. So Friday at Petco (vs. UC Davis, 2:30 p.m.) will be your chance.

Personally, I have no idea how Strasburg's pro career is going to play out. At this point he's really nothing more than the latest great thing. Some of these guys (LeBron) live up to the expectations. But, frankly, most do not.

What I can tell you is that Strasburg has been fantastic so far. Coming out of West Hills High in Santee with little attention three seasons ago, Strasburg spent a year in a relief for SDSU before bursting onto the scene last spring with his amazing 23-strikeout game against Utah.

This season, radar guns have recorded him throwing fastballs at up to 102 mph (which really seems ludicrous, but hey, he does throw very hard)...And he's 5-0 with an ERA of a buck-fifty. He's also averaging a not-of-this-planet 19.2 strikeouts for every nine innings pitched.

He's good. Very good. And I'm happy to report, he's been just as good off the field. A down to earth kid who really just wants to be a good teammate more than anything else, Strasburg has not let any of the overwhelming attention go to his head.

He works his butt off between starts, and he works hard in the classroom as well. Though he's just finishing up his Junior season, he'll be just one class shorts of graduating by season's end.

Guided beautifully by a guy who's already a Hall of Famer, Aztecs' baseball coach Tony Gwynn, Strasburg seems to have all of his ducks in a row. He'd like to finish up this season by leading the 21st-ranked Aztecs (19-10) to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years.

Then it should be on to the big leagues -- which, of course, is where the Padres presumably reside. I say presumably because in this, the 40th-anniversary season of the Friars, I'm not so sure many of us feel as if the Padres really belong.

After Strasburg is done wowing us on Friday afteroon, the Padres will begin (embarrassing us?) Friday night in their first local exhibition game of the year against the Angels.

You tell me...but I don't think there's ever been a Padres' season looked upon with as much dread as this one. In the early days of the '60's, you still had a bit of a novelty...In the '70's enough progress was made from time-to-time that fans held out at least a glimmer of hope.

The brilliance of Gwynn (along with a couple of World Series appearances) took care of the '80's and '90's...And for most of this decade, win or lose, we could at least hang around until Trevor Time.

Now it's as if there is no hope at all. Not a single preseason publication picked the Padres anywhere but 5th this year in the NL West, and the Friars were only that high because there is no 6th....Following last year's 99-loss debacle, not a single player of any substance has been added to the roster....And those that have some substance, the Padres spent the entire off-season trying to get rid of (see Jake Peavy while you still can!).

There are no dreams this season....no chance...and really nothing at all to look forward to.

Unless, that is, Strasburg takes the mound again at Petco Park on August 31st when the Nationals -- the team that figures to draft him -- come to town.

On the Road with T.Gwynn...Ello, Mar. 28th

So what's it like to actually BE a Hall of Famer?

Hell, I don't know...I'm not a Hall of Famer in.....well....in anything....Unless you wanna' count stuff like Mowing Down Ribs at a Buffet, Taking Long Afternoon Naps, Seinfeld Trivia or Worst NCAA Tournament Bracket Ever Recorded.

And, of course, you're no Hall of Famer either....so that pretty much puts both of us in the same boat.

Last couple of days, however, I've had the chance to be a little closer to an actual Hall of Famer. A real one, who lives in our very midst.....the great Tony Gwynn. You know, of Baseball Hall of Fame -- er, -- fame.

And I'm hear to tell you that maybe the greatest compliment I could ever pay to Tony Gwynn -- and I've paid a lot of them over the years -- is that when you're around him....you simply don't feel like you're around a Hall of Famer.

At least in my mind, the life of a Hall of Famer is all about limos and chauffeurs...and free dinners with no tips...and adoring masses and adulation...and big pay-day speaking appearances with rubber chicken and strawberry shortcake.

Hall of Famers move among us with entourages and tinted windows....with designer suits and $200-dollar shades....on private jet airplanes with champagne and caviar...with not a care in the world.... but always with a Sharpie in hand ready to make a few more bucks by signing the collar of your grandmother's poodle.

The life of Tony Gwynn is nothing like any of that, however. Or at least it hasn't been this weekend.

I shuttled on to the San Diego State baseball team's bus Thursday morning with the destination being Fort Worth, Texas, as the Aztecs (16-8 and not doing too badly, thank you) prepared for a three-game weekend series against three-time defending Mountain West Conference champion TCU.

Surely, I figured, the Aztecs' head coach (must be a figure-head title, I thought) would not be joining us for the ride to the airport....After all, Hall of Famers don't ride buses. Do they?

Well, this one does -- and he did. In fact, he was sitting right there in the front seat, and he was ready with a quick quip about my relaxed travel attire. (First, I was definitely under-dressed. Second, one need not be a Hall of Famer in most cases to find fault with my choice of clothing. My wife's no Hall of Famer, and she finds fault with it all the time).

Once at Lindberg Field, I awaited the whisking away of Mr. Gwynn to some remote, off-limits airport location so he could at least cool his heels before the flight. But it never happened.

Not only did Cal Ripken's HOF classmate carry his own bags, but he waited IN THE BACK OF THE LINE while his troupe of scruffy-faced collegians checked in at the American Airlines ticket counter ahead of him.

As we lined up for departure, an absolutely crazy thing happened. Some bag check guy recognized ME and wanted to chat me up about some NFL football (how one gets recognized from being on the radio, I have no idea).....all the while I was wondering when the wide-eyed fellow would recognize the guy standing directly behind me and completely lose his mind.

But Tony Gwynn got on the plane with nary a glance -- not from the bag check guy, or anyone else, for that matter. And then something else surprising happened.

I turned right once in the airplane door to go take my seat in coach along with all the players -- and Mr. Hall of Famer turned right and took his seat in coach as well. (Maybe coaches are supposed to fly coach, but I thought in this instance, perhaps it would be different).

Once in Fort Worth, the team was hungry and I figured the following would happen: we'd all be dropped off for a fast-food feast at McDonald's, and the Greatest Hitter of the last Half-Century would be met by City dignitaries and shown the biggest table at the the finest restaurant on the top floor of most plush five-star hotel in town. (That's assuming, of course, that there is such a thing in Fort Worth).

This is what did happen: we were all bused to some Texas Ranch-style buffet place for dinner, and everybody paid their own way -- including Mr. Padre, who reached into his own wallet and paid his own $12.40 tab like everybody else.

When Tony Gwynn took the job as San Diego State's head baseball coach seven seasons ago, most thought it was just a temporary move. After all, why would anybody of Gwynn's stature want to deal with the rigors of college baseball? The buses, the roadside diners, the cheap hotels, the life as far outside the limelight as possible?

The reason, as it turns out, is that Tony Gwynn is really just everyman. Hall of Famer in Cooperstown, but just simply college baseball coach in San Diego. He has simple tastes and wants a simple life. He has goals, just like the rest of us, and he doesn't plan on stopping until he attains them.

Through his first six years as the leader of the Aztecs, he hasn't had the success he thought he would have: just one league title and no NCAA Tournament appearances. He's had to work harder than he thought, and he's had to learn patience while youngsters struggle to accomplish what he accomplished so easily before them.

Most Hall of Famers are off somewhere else enjoying the good life. Tony Gwynn is still in their battling every day like the rest of us.

A pretty good life, indeed.

Coming Together

I was at the baseball game at Tony Gwynn Stadium between Kansas and SDSU.  This two game series is one of those quiet, unnoticed but truly important moments in the Aztecs' season.  The Mountain West (as we saw in hoops) has its identity issues in every sport, but in baseball the conference is seen as weak.  It's hard to get more than one team in from the conference UNLESS a team really schedules well and shows well against tough non-conference competition.  For the last couple of years Tony Gwynn has really been trying to beef up the schedule and test his team against top schools from the West and Midwest.  Last year the Aztecs showed well against USD but lost to teams such as Missouri, Long Beach State, Oregon State and Arizona.  Instead of getting a winning streak revving the Aztecs started 11-10 and finished 31-28. 

This year's start looked very similar to last year, with SDSU beating USD four out of five but struggling against Cal State Fullerton, Kansas State and Pacific.  At 7-6, the Aztecs started last week with their most important win of the year to date, the 6-run 9th inning comeback at UCLA.  Then, last weekend, all three starters shined on the mound as State swept UNLV.  Which brings us back to last night, and Kansas in town for two.  10-5 on the season, with a strong schedule and some impressive wins, the Jayhawks stood between a possible big time winning streak and another stop-and-start pattern for the Aztecs.

Ryan O'Sullivan got the start for SDSU, the freshman coming in from shortstop to make his 4th start on the mound.  Thanks to the aggressive schedule, Ryan has faced nothing but tough teams in his midweek starts, and he came in to last night with an 0-1 record and a 7.04 ERA, by far the highest on the staff.  Ryan has been solid at short but has struggled badly at the plate the last couple weeks, and you could sense he was hungry to contribute to a win.  

For the first time last night, it really came together for O'Sullivan on the mound.  He had a sinking, moving fastball working and retired 12 in a row.  Ryan also showed a solid slider to right-handers and an offspeed breaking ball.  O'Sullivan really has an aggressive, bulldog attitude while he is pitching and the infield fed off his energy and made good plays behind him.  

Cory Vaughn continued his tear in the 2nd inning by taking an outside fastball deep to right-center field for a wall ball.  Most would have had a double on the play but with his speed Vaughn easily made 3rd base.  That same speed revealed itself on the next play, when Mitch Blackburn hit a reasonably hard grounder to short.  Vaughn was moving on contact and the shortstop had no play but first base.  1-0 Aztecs.

Kansas freshman right-hander Lee Ridenhour was spectacular from there.  With a mean fastball and filthy slider, Ridenhour struck out 8 over 7 innings with just three hits allowed.  The Aztecs wouldn't even sniff another scoring threat on the night.  Which left SDSU hanging on for dear life in the late innings.

In the 7th Easton Gust booted a routine grounder for a leadoff error, and after a sacrifice O'Sullivan issued his first walk of the night.  The 7th was uncharted territory for the freshman, but Tony Gwynn stuck with him against Kansas' best hitter, third baseman Tony Thompson.  The sophomore slugger had a 23-game hitting streak active, 1 away from tying the Kansas record.  It looked like he had it on a deep launch to right field, which was carrying over Cory Vaughn's head.  But Cory continued his star performance by somehow catching up to the ball, leaping, and grabbing the ball high over his head on the dead run toward the wall.  Both Kansas baserunners were off and running and Vaughn was able to throw back in and double off the lead runner to end the inning.  A spectacular play!

Chase Thomas came on in relief to start the 8th but walked the leadoff man, and Andrew Leary relieved him.  The right-hander has become an unsung hero on the Aztecs, so I will sing his praises here.  Even after Brandon Meredith made a shaky decision trying to throw for the lead runner on a bunt and failing, Leary came back to strike out three in a row and get the game to the 9th. 

On came Addison Reed, who was a perfect 6-for-6 in saves so far this year.  A leadoff single was followed by a sacrifice and a strikeout.  Then, it was the big hitter Thompson at the plate for one more chance.  Reed got ahead 0-2, Thompson fouled one off, and then Reed lost his grip on a slider and hit Thompson in the back.  Corey Lytle followed with a worm-burner ground ball to 2nd, but Mitch Blackburn booted the play for an error (after making several good plays on the night).  Now with the bases loaded, it was nervous time, but Reed knucked down and got left fielder Nick Faunce to pop out and preserve a 1-0 win.

SDSU has now won 5 straight and 7 of 8, and at 12-6 on the season, the team is coming together and winning games they didn't use to win.  Tonight's game now looms as an even bigger chance, as a win would link up this win streak to the next conference home series against BYU, with the Aztecs' top pitchers coming back around in the rotation.  The game will be on goaztecs.com tonight at 6pm.  

A couple of other notes...

• Why are WBC games as long as World Series games?  I set up last night's Puerto Rico-USA game to tape for 4 hours and still came up short for a 9-inning game.  Grr.  Yay for the USA comeback in the 9th, though.  Now Peavy will get one more chance for redemption, at his favorite stadium in which to pitch, Dodger Stadium.  
• A great first step to redemption for the Aztecs' men last night against Weber State.  Chris was there so I'll leave the analysis to him, but if SDSU can get past their 2nd round opponent and a pretend home court at USD on Friday, they could possibly earn a rematch with St. Mary's and a chance to exorcise one of their demons from this season.

All About the Aztecs...March 17

The question, as far as I'm concerned is, how do Lorrenzo Wade, Richie Williams and Kyle Spain want to be remembed?

Throughout this season, the trio -- along with center Ryan Amoroso and backup guard Matt Thomas -- have been referred to on many occasions as the best Senior class in San Diego State basketball history.

The references, I'm sure, are flattering...but at this point in time, they are far from accurate. I mean, let's take a look at what they've accomplished: as freshmen, they rode the coat tails of Marcus Slaughter and Brandon Heath to a Mountain West Conference title -- then immediately were ridden out of the NCAA Tournament by Indiana....as sophomores, again it was Heath who led them, this time to the NIT where a magical shot by the sharp-shooting guard at least earned them one victory, over Southwest Missouri...as juniors, they again fell short of the big dance and hardly even looked the part of a postseason team, rolling over in favor of Florida. Spain, in fact, wasn't even around for the disasterous conclusion, having been suspended from the team for a second time.

Wade joined Spain on the police blotter prior to the start of this season, and Williams has been in trouble off the court as well during his career....So, back to the beginning: just how do they want to be remembered? What happens in the NIT, which begins tonight when the Aztecs host Weber State (7 p.m., Cox Arena), will go a long way towards defining their legacy.

To me -- as it stands now -- Wade, Williams and Spain are nothing more than an example of great talent frittered away. Sure they've won a bunch of games, and there have been some awards sprinkled in. Sure they've helped elevate SDSU basketball to the level of yearly contender (something that Aztec fans could only have dreamed of a decade ago).

But when the chips have all been on the table...when that one victory was needed to push the program over the top...the trio of stars have simply come up short.

How can this possibly be called the greatest Senior class in Aztec history without a single marquis victory anywhere on its resume'?...What I remember about this group is that it didn't even bother to show up last year against Florida....What I remember is that had it won any of its three important non-conference games this season (all losses to Arizona St., Arizona and St. Mary's), it would have made it to the NCAA Tournament...I remember a 14-point second-half lead blown against BYU, a loss that ultimately cost them a share of the Mountain West title and a No. 1-seed in the conference tournament.

Ultimately I remember Saturday afternoon when -- presented with one last chance at the Big Dance -- they rendered dramatic victories over UNLV and BYU useless by stinking up the joint worse than Utah did and losing the MWC Championship Game.

Honestly I'd rather remember Wade, Williams and Spain differently...The three of them have provided some spectacular moments...and perhaps they can provide a few more.

Yes, the NIT isn't the NCAA's...but once again a chance has been presented...a door has been opened...an opportunity has been offered...Beat Weber State, beat either Kansas State or Illinois State in the second round, and get revenge on (probably) St. Mary's in the quarterfinals.

End your careers in Madison Square Garden playing in the NIT semifinals (or even the finals)...Those are the memories I'd rather have.

Meanwhile, the San Diego State women's team -- to me anyway -- has become the polar opposite of the men's team...Beth Burns' squad has not just met expectations, but they have easily surpassed them.

And their reward was a Monday celebration in their Cox Arena locker room when they watched together on television and received news of their NCAA Tournament berth.

To really understand what this accomplishment meant, one needs only to go back three seasons, when SDSU won only three games total and finished an imperfect 0-and-16 in conference play. Change, of course, was needed...and it started with the signing of point guard Quenese Davis and the transfer from Cal to SDSU of athletic two-guard Jene Morris.

Two-time San Diego County Player of the Year center Paris Johnson (from San Diego High) joined the following year as did All-CIF power forward Allison Duffy (from El Capitan High).

Young and precocious, the kids took their lumps for two seasons, but steadily grew together...They made their first mark in last year's conference tournament, upsetting a pair of NCAA teams, Wyoming and TCU, before losing the MWC final to New Mexico.

This year, they shook off a season-ending suspension to Duffy (who is expected back next year) and became champions. They tied for the conference title with a 13-3 mark, and went 23-7 overall...Morris and Johnson were named first-team all-MWC, and Morris was named the conference's defensive player of the year...Davis earned second-team all-MWC honors and became the school's all-time leader in assists...Burns was named Coach of the Year (tends to happen when your team improves by 19 wins over a short three-year span).

Now they'll face 7th-seeded De Paul in the first round of the NCAA's on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Cox Arena...Can they beat the Blue Demons? They absolutely can, if for no other reason than the fact that they went 14-and-0 at home this season (including a win over No. 4-ranked Texas).

After that...they'd almost assuredly meet Pac-10 champ Stanford in the second round...Stanford was the NCAA runner-up last season (beating UConn in the National Semifinals), and they're ranked No. 2 in the country this season....No chance, you say? Well...just keep in mind that the second-round game would be played at Cox as well.

One last note about the women...regardless of what happens this season, this group is still a year ahead of schedule...Next year, Davis and Morris will both be seniors...Johnson and Duffy will be juniors...and Jessica Bradley, an all-Big 12 conference transfer from Baylor, will join the ranks.

The future is even brighter.

Another fantastic performance by the Aztecs' All-American pitcher Stephen Strasburg last Friday, kicking off a three-game weekend sweep by Tony Gwynn's team of UNLV. (By the way, SDSU owns UNLV in everything this year. Football got one of its two wins over the Rebels, both the men's and women's basketball teams were 3-0 vs. Vegas, and now baseball beats 'em three-straight).

But the best pitching performance of the weekend was not turned in by Strasburg, but rather by UCSD senior right-hander Travis Decker, who pitched a no-hitter on Saturday and defeated top-ranked Cal State Stanislaus, 6-0...Decker walked the first two hitters of the game, then retired 20 batters in a row to complete the seven-inning jem.

Decker's effort was the centerpiece of a four-game UCSD sweep of Division II's top-ranked squad and improved the Tritons to 15-7....Nicely done!

Aztecs Baseball Weekend In Review

A tremendous weekend for SDSU Baseball ended with a three-game sweep of UNLV yesterday, 15-2 at Tony Gwynn Stadium.  The Aztecs have now won four straight and seven of their last eight games, improving to 11-6, 3-0 MWC.  Thoughts on all three games:

FRIDAY: Over 2,100 take in the game at TGS, leading to a host of logistical problems, from long ticket lines to parking structure-change making issues.  By the 3rd inning it was hard to find an empty seat in the house.  They've come to see Strasburg and Stephen does not disappoint, striking out the side in the 1st and 2nd innings and recording an insane 10 K's through four innings.  UNLV scores off Strasburg twice, the first involving a walk-steal-balk and the second a strikeout-wild pitch.  Stephen runs up his pitch count, forcing him out after 7 innings, but the big crowd sees 14 strikeouts against just one walk, with six hits and two runs allowed.  Three in the first and one in the 2nd is enough for the SDSU offense, and the bullpen survives a shaky 9th from Addison Reed to close out a 4-3 win.  Erik Castro shows signs of breaking out of a season-long slump with his first HR of the year and a 2-for-3 night.  

SATURDAY: It's a matinee, scheduled head-to-head with the start of the MWC basketball championships in Las Vegas, so I knew the crowd would be a big drop from Friday night to Saturday afternoon.  About 1600 less, as a matter of fact.  Those watching the basketball disappointment at home miss one of the most complete games of the Aztecs' season to date.  The story is Jon Berger, a senior who got boxed around badly last year but has found great control and a breaking pitch to complement his excellent changeup.  Berger strikes out a career-high 10 over 8 innings, all but one on his slow-slow-slower change.  After a slow start against impressive whip-thin UNLV freshman right-hander Tanner Peters, the Aztecs rise up with three runs in the 5th and three more in the 8th.  Pat Colwell's in the middle of things as usual, leading off with a base hit for the 5th straight game, he finishes 2-4 with an RBI.  Leading 6-1 in the 9th, Tony Gwynn thinks he's going to be able to rest his closer, until James McLaughlin loads the bases with nobody out.  In comes Reed for his best appearance of the season, striking out three straight for his career-best 6th save.  6-1 SDSU the final. 

SUNDAY: Here is where the Aztecs can really separate themselves from other teams in their conference.  While UNLV throws Corey Hales, a senior with an 8.10 ERA, the Aztecs counter with Tyler Lavigne, a solid sinker-baller who has kept his team in the game every time out.  SDSU's pitching depth is starting to reveal itself, and never more so than today.  Lavigne strikes out 8 in 5+ innings, and is never hit hard.  The only three singles he allows are little rollers or choppers off his sinker.  The Aztecs' bullpen finishes off with four shutout innings, with three hits and no walks allowed.  Oh, what about the offense?  Feasting on the back end of the Rebels' pitching staff, SDSU bangs out 14 hits and 15 runs in a 15-2 laugher.  Ever since his walkoff HR against USD last Friday, Cory Vaughn has been on an absolute tear: 

7 games: 10-26 (.385), 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 9 RS, 3BB, 2 HBP, 4K, 4 SB

Yesterday Cory ripped an 0-2 fastball up the middle for a two-run single in the first, used his speed to leg out an infield dribbler for a single in the 3rd, laced a triple down the left-field line and into the corner in the 5th (part of a 7-run inning), and then blasted a hanger over the left-field fence for a 3-run HR in the 7th.  He never got to bat again, finishing a double short of the cycle.  It was also great to see Josh Chasse, a hard worker who struggles to crack the outfield lineup, come off the bench and go 2-2 with 3 RBI, including his first college HR, a no-doubter in the 8th.  

Kansas is in town Tuesday and Wednesday and then it's BYU for a three-game series on Thursday-Friday-Saturday.  I would anticipate the SDSU rotation for the next five days to be as follows, but it's not official:

Ryan O'Sullivan-Tuesday

Nate Solow-Wednesday

Stephen Strasburg-Thursday

Jon Berger-Friday

Tyler Lavigne-Saturday

Aztecs Baseball Recap from UCLA

The Aztecs now have two last at-bat wins they can point to in the preseason as potential building blocks.  Last night at Jackie Robinson Stadium, a chilly and sloppy game came to a rousing conclusion as SDSU scored nine runs in the final three innings, including 6 in the 9th, to beat the reeling UCLA Bruins 10-6.  Five straight hits in the final inning included 2-run doubles from Brandon Meredith and Cory Vaughn, who are fast becoming the run producers Tony Gwynn hoped they would be.  San Diego State is now 8-6 while UCLA is a hard-luck 3-11.

The Aztecs dealt with some of their familiar issues, such as hitting droughts and fielding miscues, but also showed a real resiliency in waiting out a tough young pitcher and feasting on the weaker part of the UCLA bullpen.  It was my first chance to call a Ryan O'Sullivan pitching start, and I thought Ryan showed a good fastball and at times had a pretty solid breaking pitch.  He was certainly the victim of some bad fortune early on, as there were a number of "almost" plays made behind him, and a couple of real ducksnorts fell for base hits.  He also walked two batters who both came around to score.  In the fifth he gave up three straight solid hits and got lifted.  

Trevor Bauer started for UCLA, a freshman from Hart High, and he was pretty good.  Looked like a low-'90s fastball, good hard slider, a 6'0" right-hander who has a terrier mentality and really locked in as the game went along.  He was herky jerky and a little violent in his delivery, but did get good extension coming toward home plate.  Bauer gave up just two hits in 6 innings and believe me the Aztecs were happy to see him go.  It was his first start after working out of the bullpen.  

In college baseball one thing is clear: if you can keep the game within striking range there are usually a couple of pitchers in the other bullpen who will give you a chance to get back into it.  Sunday's game wasn't out of reach at 5-1...but when USD kept piling on to get to 10-1, that's when the Aztecs were in trouble.  Last night, at 5-1 UCLA in the 5th, the SDSU bullpen held it right there.  Andrew Leary retired all five Bruins he faced, and James McLaughlin was solid in the 7th.  That's the type of pitching midweek that can separate the Aztecs from other teams.  

Still, San Diego State's offense was as cold as the chilly night at Jackie Robinson Stadium.  Finally, after a total gift run was given to SDSU in the 7th (error, wild pitch, passed ball, groundout, LOL), the Aztecs took advantage of some more presents.  Wild lefty Gavin Brooks (from Rancho Buena Vista) gave up a hit, walk, and hit by pitch, then a wild pitch.  Brooks departed for another left-hander, Brendan Lafferty, who then got out of the inning without allowing another hit, although a sac fly cut the lead down to 5-4 UCLA.  

Kegan Sharp gave up a homerun to Cody Decker in the bottom of the 8th (the UCLA ballpark is a little bandbox by the way, it was probably a double at TGS) and it was 6-4 and trouble heading into the 9th.  The Bruins were the preseason pick to win the Pac-10, but a couple of their top pitchers are injured, and the hard-luck team went through a 10-game losing streak that included 6 one-run losses and 8 games in a row against ranked teams (#1 strength of schedule in the country).  On this night, instead of their top closer, the Bruins had to try and have a pair of journeyman seniors finish the game.  

Josh Chasse, a junior outfielder who has to fight for playing time, got things started for the Aztecs with a big walk, fighting back against Lafferty after falling behind 1-2 in the count.  Pat Colwell then hit the first pitch he saw to right field, past the diving second baseman for a hit.  Down 6-4 with two on and nobody out, Tony decided to call for the bunt, and Brandon Decker laid down a good one to the left of the mound.  Lafferty threw late and it was a base hit to load the bases.  I looked down in the UCLA bullpen but couldn't quite see the number.  When the head coach made the call to the bullpen and it was senior right-hander Jason Novak, he of the team-worst 13.50 ERA, I figured there was a pretty good chance for the Aztecs.

With Meredith at the plate, Novak jumped ahead 0-2 then threw a breaking ball in the dirt and to the backstop.  6-5 game, and now 2nd and 3rd with nobody out.  Brandon kept the at-bat alive with a foul or two and then roped an inside pitch inside the 3rd base bag and down the line for a double, plating both runners.  7-6 SDSU, their first lead of the game.  Now, the floodgates were wide open.  Erik Castro gets just his 4th hit of the season, a hard grounder that gets through this time.  Vaughn doubles to deep center, short-hopping the wall to make it 9-6.  And with two outs, Mike Gallego's son Nico throws it away at shortstop to make it 10-6.  After being two-hit through six innings, the Aztecs get five straight hits in the 9th to score six runs and add to the UCLA misery in 2009.

Addison Reed had a big fastball in the 9th, striking out the last two Bruins, their top two hitters back-to-back.  Then it was on to the bus for the long drive back to San Diego, a happy Aztecs team with a big win in their back pockets.  With Strasburg on the mound Friday, SDSU has a chance to build a little winning streak here opening conference action.  We'll have radio coverage on XTRA 1360 this Friday at 6pm.  

Chris Ello...Watch The Kids!!!....March 7th

The refrain is old and tired by now....like complaining about traffic or the economy....we get it...you don't like to sit in traffic...you're stressed about your checkbook.

Welcome to the club.

Here's another thing we all seem to agree on: blowing a bunch of money to watch a bunch of over-hyped, under-performing, not-hustling, dont-care, aloof, egotistical multi-millionaire athletes slog their way through 3 or 4 hours of a professional sports game?....well...it blows.

Honestly -- and I've said this many times before -- you care whether the Padres win or not a whole lot more than they do....same goes for the Chargers....and every other MLB or NFL team you can think of.

You honestly think that Brian Giles sat around all winter ashamed of the fact that he played last year for a team that lost 99 games and was easily one of the worst teams in baseball?
(Actually, maybe Brian really was upset and took it out on his ex-fiancee....but that's for another story).

You really think Vincent Jackson gave a damn that the Bolts were the most disappointing team in football last season? (By the way -- even with the exciting playoff win over Indy -- most disappointing is exactly what they were)....Hell, Jackson threw himself a party to celebrate his 1,000-yard receiving season after the Chargers improved to 7-8 (true story).

That's just the way it is with the pros. Show up...play pretty hard....hug and kiss the other team after it's over....collect paycheck (most important!)...do it all again next time....see where that lands you at the end of the season.

Now...to be fair, it's not 100-percent right to single out any pro players for this lackidasical approach....Because quite frankly, the organizations they play for hardly care about them, either. MLB and NFL teams tell you how great you are when they get you....then use you for as long as you produce...and then throw you out with the trash at the first sign of slippage.

Ask LaDainian Tomlinson about it....or Trevor Hoffman.

So what's the answer?? I mean...we may not like it....but what the hell else are we going to do? We like baseball, we gotta see the Padres....We can't live without football, so we gotta support our Chargers....If we like basketball (and I know there are a few of you), we gotta watch
lunk-heads like 'Melo, Iverson, Star-bury and the rest of them.

Right?

Well, no...not exactly.

You wanna see a great basketball game? Well...you could drive the three hours to L.A., fork over $500 bucks and maybe see Baron Davis and the Clippers play the Raptors (quick, name a Raptor) from the nosebleeds.....or....

You could bust over to Jenny Craig Pavillion today....plunk down maybe $10 bucks....and watch a bunch of kids fight it out for the CIF San Diego basketball titles....You may not know any of the kids playing for El Camino or Torrey Pines....or Oceanside or Hoover....or Cathedral Catholic or La Jolla....but here's one thing you should know: these kids will compete with more spirit and hustle than you'll ever see in a month's worth of NBA double-headers on TNT.

You want a little more drama and excitement??....How 'bout getting yourself out to Vegas (I'm here now, by the way) for the rest of the WCC post-season tournament and see if U.S.D. can stage another miracle March run?

Then you can stay a few days more and check out the Mountain West tourney....Can Steve Fisher's Aztecs save their season and sneak into the NCAA's at the last moment?? If they do, you know you'ld want to be a part of it....because you know that they're going to put everything they have into trying it.

You want some great baseball?? Probably won't see much this season at Petco, but you sure can see some today at USD's Cunningham Stadium or tomorrow at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium....that's because the Toreros and Aztecs continue their four-game weekend series.

Last night, SDSU won it, 6-4, in 10 innings on a walk-off three-run homer by Cory Vaughn (former Padre Greg Vaughn's kid)....The day before, Aztec ace Stephen Strasburg struck out 18 batters in 8 innings to beat USD....Think you're going to see that at Petco anytime this year?

The point is this. All of us are tired of the ridiculous prices to get into pro sporting events, and we're even more tired of all of the mediocre play we see when we do decide to pony-up.

But we can do something about it.

Go see some college hoops or baseball. Go see the preps.

I guarantee you, those guys will give you your money's worth.